Black and White Roses
by SnowWolf33
Summary: After 50 years of being separated and Julia desperately searching for him. Julia and Shadow finally finaly find eachother with the help of Sonic and Co. Find out what crazy things happen! Tragic ending! Not good at summaries. R&R please
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

**Author's Note: Here's chapter one of my brand new story. Hope you enjoy it. Please R&R! Nothing belongs to me besides Julia and the plot of this story. **

A young-looking white female hedgehog was strolling along in a small forest. She was wearing a white tank top with a light pink colored bordering the piece of clothing, and a bow of a darker pink shade adorned the top of her shirt. Underneath her fluffy white chest fur, she had on a pink skirt with white bordering. She also had on pink gloves and pink and white boots other than that her fur was a pure white color like snow. She held a picture in her hands. It was a picture of Shadow with the word 'Missing' written on a piece of paper that was taped to the bottom of the picture. She looked around and sighed.

"Shadow, where are you?" she asked herself softly.

She picked up a rose and sniffed it; tearing out the spines, she placed the flower in her fur next to her ear. She had been desperately looking for Shadow ever since they had been separated after they had left Space Colony Ark. She had spent year after year of her life trying to find the black and red hedgehog. She had now given up all hope of finding her equally furry best friend. Today she was on her last search for him. And as she traveled she heard two voices, one female and the other male. She cautiously navigated her way over to see whom these two voices belonged to. When she did spot them, she went out into the open, thinking that maybe they could help her. The rabbit and the echidna turned as they heard her coming.

"Who are you?" asked the red-furred echidna.

"My name is Julia, and I was hoping that you could help me with something," she responded in a soft tone.

"My name is Knuckles, and this is Cream," the echidna said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." She smiled.

"What is it that you want us to help you with?" Cream asked as she picked a flower.

"Just a simple question. Have you seen him?" She asked as she held up the picture of Shadow. Knuckles's eyes widened.

"Why are you looking for Shadow?" Knuckles asked.

"I will explain when the time comes. Now I take it that you know him, and if you know him, then you must have seen him. So I ask you that you please take me to him," she pleaded. "It's very important," she added. Cream and Knuckles looked at each other.

"Maybe we can ask Sonic and the others if they know where he went," Cream offered.

"I heard he went to practice his fighting skills, but we can make sure by asking the others" Knuckles agreed.

"Can we go now?" she asked impatiently. The two nodded.

"This way," Cream said, leading them to Sonic's house. They arrived at the house in a couple of minutes. Sonic's house was neither big nor small.

"Here we are. Sonic's house," Knuckles said. They all walked inside. Sonic halted in his tracks as he passed by the front door.

"Hello! And who is this beautiful hedgehog?" Sonic asked, grinning. Julia looked at him icily. Her eyes were the same crimson color as Shadow's.

"Sonic, this is Julia," Knuckles said faintly, noting her irritation.

"She wants to know where Shadow is," Cream said. Tails overheard their conversation.

"Wasn't Shadow practicing in the field?" Tails cut in.

"I know. Let's all go together to visit him," Amy suggested; she had also overheard them.

"Can we please go now?" Julia urged.

"Whoa, what's the big hurry, Julia?" Sonic asked suspiciously.

"I have been searching Shadow for a long, long time," she replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I see," said Sonic, and they all set out to the distant field where Shadow was practicing. It was a long walk there. They arrived at the location more than ten minutes later. Julia was so excited that she was finally able to see her very best friend again after fifty or so years. She looked from behind the last tree until the field began. When she spotted Shadow, her heart began to race in her chest. She couldn't stay hidden any longer and she ran out.

"SHADOW!!!" she yelled joyfully, skidding to a stop right before the red and black hedgehog. Shadow's eyes widened for a moment.

"Don't you recognize me, Shadow?" Julia asked. Shadow still said nothing. Julia was silent too but she dug under her shirt and pulled out a picture. It was a photo of her and Shadow hugging. She pulled it out and showed it to him. A smile was now on her face.

"J—Jules?" Shadow whispered softly in disbelief. Julia smiled at him.

**A/N: End of chapter one! What will happen next! Stay tuned! And don't forget to review on your way out please. I really appreciate reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**Author's Note: Here's chapter two! Again, I don't own Sonic and Co., just Julia. **

Julia smiled softly at Shadow and nodded, her tail wagging from side to side. Shadow wrapped his arms around her, his tail wagging as well.

"I missed you so much, Shadow. I spent all my life looking for you. I had lost my hope of ever finding you; in fact, I was on my last search for you today," she said, her voice breaking.

"I missed you too, Jules," Shadow said softly to her.

"Anyone mind explaining to us what this is all about?" Knuckles asked. Julia turned to look at the small group who had been watching the reunion quietly and then looked back at Shadow. The black and red hedgehog nodded silently. She turned back to look at the group.

"I have been with Shadow for a very long time. I was in Space Colony Ark when Project Shadow was started," Julia began to explain.

"She was being used as a lab rat," Shadow added. You could tell it was hard for him to say those words.

"Later, when Project Shadow was finished and Shadow was created, we became friends," she continued with the story.

"But when the humans attacked the Ark and killed Maria, we were separated when we were sent to the Earth," Shadow finished the story for her.

"And I have been looking for him ever since," she added in a small voice. The small gang which had been listening intently began to murmur amongst themselves.

"That's a very touching story," a female voice said from behind a tree. Shadow's eyes narrowed while Julia froze at the voice.

"Rouge…" Shadow said icily. Julia looked at Shadow questioningly.

"Shadow, do you know her?" Julia asked as a white female bat stepped out from behind the tree. Shadow said absolutely nothing.

"Shadow, quit fooling around with these kids and let's get to work," the bat said impatiently.

"Can this wait, Rouge?" Shadow snapped.

"Jeez, don't be so grumpy," Rouge said.

"Can we go home?" Amy spoke.

"In a minute, Amy," Sonic responded. Julia looked over at Shadow, putting a hand over his, and looked down at the ground.

"What is it, Jules?" Shadow asked, drawing his attention away from Rouge and back to his long-time friend.

"I got a warning for you all," she replied softly, raising her head, her crimson-hued eyes falling on each of the members of the small group. The others looked at her intently, waiting for her to continue. Confusion reigned on Shadow's face.

"On my way to where Knuckles and Cream were, I overheard this person talking about destroying Sonic and the rest of you," she said. Then her eyes fell back on Shadow. "He was looking for you as well, Shadow." The others were silent. Shadow met her gaze.

"Now, I don't want any of you to get hurt. Especially you, Shadow. Not after I finally found you after all these years," she said to them.

"Shadow, we don't have all day!" Rouge exclaimed. Julia looked over at Rouge and walked up to her with her hands on her hips.

"Listen, you…I have spent _years_ looking for Shadow and he isn't going anywhere. Especially with you!" Julia shouted. Smoke was almost coming out of her ears.

"All right, all right, don't get your tail in a knot," Rouge said as she held her hands up.

"Guys, we need to prevent Eggman from attacking," Tails cut in. The others murmured in agreement amongst themselves and walked off toward Sonic's house.

"Sorry, Rouge, looks like am off duty today," Shadow said as he followed everyone to Sonic's house, dragging his friend along, who was currently clinging to his side like a leech. Rouge stared after him, bewildered.

Once in Sonic's homely abode, everyone sat down in the living room in any seat available—on the couches, floor, and the recliner. Julia sat beside Shadow on one of the dark blue couches. Shadow had indiscreetly begun to amuse himself by ruffling his female friend's chest fur. This made her happy yet blush a soft shade of pink which was barely noticeable. Suddenly out of nowhere an unbearable pain shot up her side and she groaned in pain, yanking at Shadow's black fur. All eyes were now on her as everyone stopped his silent conversation on how to deal with Eggman.

"What's wrong, Jules?" Shadow asked worriedly as he tried to dislodge her hand from his fur. Julia shook her head slightly.

"Remember when you saved me from the lab? Remember that wound you healed?" Julia asked. Shadow faintly nodded.

"Well, up until two years ago, it's been bothering me greatly," Julia said. Shadow inspected the scarred area where a wound once was by parting her snow white fur to reveal a swollen patch of skin underneath. Julia bit her lower lip to hold back a groan, but the sound still escaped from her mouth.

"Did you ever stop your search to get this checked?" Shadow asked sternly. Julia just simply shook her head.

"Jules…" Shadow sighed his worried crimson-hued eyes met her own. She nuzzled his neck.

"What can we do?" Sonic asked.

"What else, Faker. Take her to the hospital," Shadow said icily.

"Right now?" Julia asked. Shadow nodded silently.

"I want to find out what you have," Shadow said, absently picking at his fur.

"We'll take Tails with us," Julia piped up. Tails nodded, and they all got up and went off to the hospital. The female hedgehog was immediately attended to, mostly due to the threats Shadow gave the secretary. Shadow quickly explained the situation to the doctor as Julia sat down on the examination table. A nurse took blood from the scarred area on her side. Julia didn't even flinch, since she was so used to needles. To Shadow, she was being too silent on the examination table, so he grabbed her hands.

"What are you thinking about Jules?" Shadow asked, flicking her right ear to catch her attention. Her ear went down against her skull. She hated her ears being flicked, and she looked at Shadow.

"The past," she sighed. Shadow looked at her; to him, Julia seemed so much happier in her past than she was at the present. Shadow was silent again. Finally the doctor came back in.

"This doesn't look good," the doctor said, tapping his chin.

"What is it, Doctor?" Julia asked, slightly frightened.

"Well, it seems you have a deadly virus coursing through your veins. It came from a severe infection within the scarred wound," the doctor announced. Julia froze in horror and shifted slightly toward Shadow, who stood stock still, looking at the doctor in shock.

"Is there a cure?" Tails asked cautiously. The doctor shook his head.

"The virus is too advanced for us to do anything. The best we can do is to try to get rid of the infection with antibiotics and/or surgery," the doctor responded gravely. Everyone was silent. The doctor took out a box from the pocket of his lab coat and handed it to Shadow, who in turn took it carefully.

"Give her that twice a day and come back in five days. If you notice anything unusual, please come right away," the doctor said. Shadow nodded and took the box, gave some money to the doctor in exchange, and the three left the hospital. Julia attached herself to Shadow's side, her tail wagging happily from side to side despite the news she just received. They arrived back at Sonic's house and stopped in their tracks.

Half of the house had been demolished. Knuckles, who was now struggling to get up not too far from them, was covered in bits and pieces of debris.

"What happened here?!" Tails exclaimed.

"Eggman attacked," Knuckles replied as he dusted himself off. "He was up to his usual tricks trying to destroy us, but he was also looking for Shadow," continued the red-furred echidna.

"What would he want with Shadow?" Julia asked. No one said anything, and she blinked in confusion.

"I better go see what he wants," Shadow said unemotionally. This made Julia cling tighter to Shadow's side.

"What's the matter, Jules?" Shadow looked at her, probing her muzzle in an attempt to dislodge the female hedgehog from his side.

"Can I come with you?" Julia pleaded.

"Jules…" The black and red hedgehog sighed in exasperation.

"Pllleeeaaasseee!" the white hedgehog continued to plead. Shadow put a hand on his face and sighed again.

"Fine…but am not going to take the blame if Eggman tries to hurt you," Shadow said. Julia nodded and dislodged herself from his side, only to relocate herself at his back. This reminded Shadow of a simpler time a long time ago.

Shadow chaos controlled them into a closet in Eggman's ship. Through much effort and having his fur ripped off in two different places, he finally managed to dislodge his furry friend from his back and placed her on the floor.

"Don't make a sound, Jules. Maybe we can get by unnoticed," Shadow whispered in her ear, the air from his breath making it twitch. She nodded silently. Shadow took his hand and slipped out of the closet and began to sneak silently toward the control room.

"Why, hello Shadow! A pleasure to see you on my ship," a voice said from behind them. Shadow whirled, keeping his body between the voice and Julia.

"The pleasure is all mine, Doctor," Shadow responded with a sneer.

"I see you brought your little furry friend. Julia, am I right?" Eggman said, grinning.

"H—How did you know my name?" Julia stammered.

"My grandfather's journals," Eggman said. "And you were a lab rat."

Julia shook her head, placing her hands over her eyes. Her body shook like a leaf in the wind. Shadow glared at Eggman.

"I advise you to shut your mouth, Doctor," Shadow snapped icily.

"But that was all she was to Project Shadow, wasn't she?" Eggman continued, not heeding the now enraged black and red hedgehog. "If you hadn't saved her, she'd be dead," he continued. Julia began to sob softly; she didn't like to be reminded of those awful days of her past. Shadow wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to comfort the upset female hedgehog.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! I own nothing except for Julia and the plot of this fanfic.**

Julia sobbed quietly into Shadow's chest fur.

"Doctor, I warn you, don't make me angry or you'll regret ever being born," Shadow warned icily.

"Shadow, I can't deny that what Eggman said never happened. I never meant anything to anyone on Ark," Julia said in between sobs.

"That was a long time ago, Jules," Shadow said softly to her.

"That doesn't mean that it never happened, Shadow. It's hard to forget the past," Julia said to Shadow as her crimson-hued eyes met Shadow's own scarlet ones.

"Enough chatter, lets get to business," Eggman said.

"What do you want from me, Doctor?" Shadow asked calmly, despite what had just transpired among the three.

"I require your services, Shadow. You're the only one who can help me with this kind of problem," Eggman said as he twirled the end of his mustache.

"Again, what do you want?" Shadow asked again, slowly becoming irritated.

"Sonic and his friends have three chaos emeralds. I need you to make a race bet with Sonic for those chaos emeralds," Eggman said. Julia's ears perked up, and she raised her head from where it was situated on Shadow's chest.

"Shadow will do no such thing for you. Those chaos emeralds belong to Sonic and his friends," Julia said sternly. Both of them where taken aback by her words.

"Jules, don't interfere," Shadow said as he poked her chest repeatedly.

"But…Shadow…" Julia was stopped as Shadow placed a finger on her lips. Her eyes widened slightly. Shadow shook his head slightly as he pulled his finger away from her mouth.

"Shadow, are you working for Eggman?" Julia asked him.

"Yes, Shadow is helping me," Eggman said with a smirk.

"But, Shadow! Eggman is the bad guy here. You can't be…." Julia didn't finish her sentence. Shadow looked at her sadly.

"What have you turned into, Shadow?" she whispered. "This isn't the Shadow I know."

"Things change, Jules. Eggman was the one who saved me from suspended animation," Shadow said.

"Will you do it, Shadow?" Eggman said, interrupting the argument going on between the two old friends.

"Absolutely," Shadow responded.

"Shadow…you can't do this…those chaos emeralds are theirs," Julia continued to plead.

"Not if I win them fair and square, Jules," Shadow responded as he took her arm. He chaos controlled back to where Sonic and the others were now waiting for them. Everyone noticed that things where tense between the two friends. Julia leaned against a tree, refusing to look at anyone.

"What's wrong with Julia?" Sonic asked.

"Nothing…Eggman just reminded her of a painful part of her past," Shadow replied to the blue-furred hedgehog's question.

"Liar," she whispered.

"What was that, Jules?" Shadow asked as he turned to look at the female hedgehog.

"Nothing," she simply replied.

"That's what I thought," Shadow said. "Hey faker, are you up for a race?" Shadow asked as he turned to Sonic.

"Sure, why not?" Sonic replied, not resisting a race.

"If I win, I get your chaos emeralds. If you win, I'll leave," Shadow said.

"Done and done," Sonic piped up. Julia shook her head back and forth, not believing what was happening.

"Don't do it, Sonic! Shadow's going to give the emeralds to Eggman!" Julia shouted. All eyes turned to her, surprised at her sudden outburst.

"Is that so?" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Julia just nodded. Shadow's muzzle turned a menacing shade of red. Julia noticed that Shadow was angry, but this didn't frighten her. She just adjusted the bow on her shirt. Shadow walked towards her, his hands clenched at his sides. She didn't even flinch or back away. Shadow placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Come on Jules, don't ruin my fun," Shadow whispered into her ear. Julia made an 'hmpf' sound and turned around and raised her chin into the air, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh come on, Jules, don't act like that," Shadow said to her.

"Why, Shadow? You can't boss me around. I'm your best friend," Julia said. Her eyes were now closed. Shadow twirled her around. Julia almost lost her balance, but kept herself steady by putting her hands on his chest.

"Shadow, be nice," Julia protested. Shadow placed his hands on her sides. Her eyes widened and she looked at Shadow with a questioning look in her eyes. His hands migrated to her chest fur, and he didn't lift his hands at all, and then they migrated back to her shoulders where they had been earlier. Julia blushed a deep shade of scarlet. She didn't deny that she had feelings for her best friend, but she didn't say so either.

"Shadow…I think it's best if you do that bet," she stammered quietly. Shadow smirked and stepped away.

"Let's race," Shadow said to Sonic. Julia climbed up the nearest tree and sat on a low and bare branch. She watched with a forlorn expression as the two male hedgehogs raced away. Knuckles quietly hopped up on the branch.

"Hey, Julia," Knuckles spoke as he sat down on the same branch.

"Hey Knuckles," She replied, looking absently at her hands.

"What was that all about, with you and Shadow?" Knuckles asked carefully, not wanting to upset the female hedgehog.

"It was nothing. We are just friends. He just does that to get me to let him do whatever he wants to do," Julia simply said. It was silent as the race dragged on. Gradually Julia fell asleep out of boredom. Knuckles watched her sleep in silence as he waited to hear about the race. Several minutes later, Shadow walked into the clearing, followed by a bummed-looking Sonic.

"No way Shadow, you cheated!" Sonic complained. Julia's ear twitched in her sleep as she heard the two males. Tails handed their three chaos emeralds to Shadow. Shadow looked up at the branch where Julia had situated herself. He frowned as he spotted Knuckles sitting on the same branch.

"Well, me and Jules will see you some other time. I have to go give these to Eggman," Shadow said as he hopped on the branch Julia was on, startling Knuckles in the process. He picked up the sleeping form of his best friend and chaos controlled back into Eggman's ship.

"Welcome back, Shadow," Eggman greeted them. Shadow threw the chaos emeralds to Eggman.

"Good job, Shadow," Eggman complimented.

"Yeah whatever," Shadow said uninterestedly. He looked down at the furry form he held in his arms and looked back up at Eggman.

"Do you mind if Jules borrows your guest room?" Shadow asked.

"Why not? As long as that lab rat doesn't interfere with any of my plans, I don't see the problem." Eggman shrugged. Shadow's fists clenched under his friend's sleeping form.

"Don't call her that anymore! I saved her from that fate," Shadow growled. Eggman remained silent, not wanting to flare up the hedgehog's rage any further.

Shadow turned and went to Eggman's guest room. It wasn't a very big room or a homely room either, but it would do for now. He gently set the sleeping female hedgehog on the bed and pulled the blanket over her. Shadow deduced that she was really tired, since she didn't show any signs of waking. He turned and walked out the door of the room, shutting it quietly behind him. Then he headed over to the control room.

"What's your plan, Doctor?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We find the last two chaos emeralds," Eggman said.

"Do you even know where they are?" Shadow asked, looking at Eggman out of the corner of his eyes.

"As a matter of fact, I do. They're buried deep inside a barren mountain, in two different locations of the said mountain," Eggman explained in response. "Are we taking that she-hedgehog with us?"

"Well, I don't think we have any other option. But worry not, she won't interfere," Shadow responded in return.

"It's better if we keep her in the ship, so she doesn't run off and tell Sonic and his friends," Eggman said. Shadow nodded slightly.

"She wouldn't agree to help us that easily. Nor can you force her. She's a free spirit," Shadow said.

"Shadow, do you like that she-hedgehog?" Eggman asked.

"Her name is Julia…" He didn't say anything further.

**A/N: End of chapter three! Hope you enjoyed! And again, don't forget to review on your way out. I love reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter of my fic. I don't own anything except for Julia and the plot of this fic. I should tell you you're in for a little surprise at the end of this chapter. And thanks to all who reviewed on this story!**

Julia blinked her eyes open and rubbed the sleep out of them with one gloved hand. She slowly sat up and looked around. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't remember how she got here in the first place. She frowned slightly and looked over at the bed side table that was situated by the bed. It had a small ordinary boring lamp, a glass of water, a pill on a napkin next to the glass of water, and last, but not least, it had a carefully folded note in front of the objects. She picked up the note and unfolded it, and then she read it. The note read:

_Dear Jules,_

_I've gone with Eggman to look for the two remaining chaos emeralds. I took the liberty of placing your antibiotics pill and a glass of water on the table next to your bed; make sure you don't forget to drink that when you wake up. I'll see you later._

_P.S: Don't even dare to leave the ship. You can go about the ship and explore for a while but don't go near the door unless it is an emergency._

_With love,_

_Shadow_

She giggled and shook her head. After a couple seconds she sighed. She drank her medicine and got up off the bed. She fixed her shirt and skirt and then ruffled her sleep-matted quills. Walking out of the small un-homely room, she wandered about the ship and explored it. She didn't really find anything of interest in the ship; there where only a bunch of machines and other boring stuff. What did get her attention were three small planes, which she might think to use as an escape tactic if anything happened. She wandered into the control room, looking out the windshield type glass. She took notice that they were on some barren land devoid of any plant life; there was a barren mountain in front of where the ship was stationed. It was equally devoid of plant life as the land was. She sighed. She had now become bored of being in the boring ship, but Shadow had told her not to leave unless it was an emergency. She could always fake some pain and go running out. Then she had the sudden feeling that she wasn't alone.

"Well, well, we meet again," a female voice said from behind her. She whirled.

"Rouge!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"That is none of you business, sweetie," Rouge said in reply, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Shadow will be back any minute," Julia said dangerously.

"So what? I can finish you off before he can come and help you," Rouge smirked. It was then that she saw Shadow, Eggman, and his robots through the glass. She ran to the door with Rouge hot on her tail. Rouge caught her arm when she was about halfway out the door.

"Shadow! Help!" Julia screamed as she tried to get away, succeeding to get away from the bat girl's grasp. She ran toward Shadow. He caught her as he neared her. Seeing Rouge, he growled.

"Rouge, stay away from her. Get out of here. Now," Shadow snapped.

"Jeez, no need to be so grumpy," Rouge said as she extended her bat wings and flew off. Julia hugged Shadow, shivering.

"There, there, Jules. You're safe now," Shadow cooed as he rubbed her back. Shadow turned to Eggman.

"Well, Doctor, you have all seven chaos emeralds. What are you going to do with them?" Shadow asked.

"First, I will use them to destroy Sonic and his buddies by turning you into Super Shadow. Then you would be unstoppable," Eggman said proudly. "Then, with all of them destroyed, I will get the Master Emerald and then take over this world," Eggman continued with an evil laugh. Julia's eyes widened.

"Destroy Sonic and his friends using Shadow as a weapon?" she said to herself with disbelief. She eyed the two chaos emeralds that Eggman was holding. If she somehow took them and ran away fast enough, she could prevent anyone from getting hurt. She pulled away from Shadow, who in turn looked at her questioningly, but she didn't pay attention to this. She had a goal to achieve. Suddenly and wordlessly she snatched the two chaos emeralds that Eggman had and made a run for it. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her—which was almost as fast as Shadow or Sonic, but still a bit too slow to outrun either.

"Hey! Give me back those chaos emeralds!" Eggman yelled after her. Shadow watched her run away for a few seconds before he took off after her. Once she saw him coming at full speed, she yelped and pushed her legs to go faster. She was quickly tiring, but she had to prevent Sonic and his friends from getting hurt.

Shadow was now hot on her tail, passing her and forcing her to skid to a stop in front of him.

"That was a big mistake, Jules," Shadow said in a bittersweet tone as he grabbed her throat.

"S—Shadow, you can't help Eggman kill innocent people!" she stammered, trying to breathe as Shadow had her windpipe cut off. Shadow didn't say anything, but finally he released his grasp on her and took the two chaos emeralds from her.

"I'm sorry, Jules," Shadow apologized.

"Please, Shadow, don't do it," she pleaded, tears slipping down her furry cheeks. Shadow picked her up and draped her body over his shoulder. He took her back to the ship where Eggman was waiting for them. Shadow dropped Julia on the floor, not roughly though, as he handed the chaos emeralds back to Eggman. Julia decided to try and steal the emeralds one more time. She noticed all seven of them were with Eggman, and she made a quick grab from them. She managed to grab all seven and shove them onto her person. One went down her shirt, one in her quills, one in her skirt, one in each glove, and one in each shoe.

"Well you're a tricky little rat!" Eggman shouted.

"Jules, give me the emeralds," Shadow said, holding his hand out. Julia firmly shook her head.

"No, Shadow. This isn't you, you aren't evil!" she said, taking off to the mini planes she had seen earlier while she explored. Shadow was hot on her tail once more.

"Come on, Jules. Things change," Shadow said calmly.

"Not for me," she called back, tears streaming down her face and she jumped into one of the mini planes.

"Am sorry, Shadow. I missed you a lot, but I'm not going to let you take lives. You saved me once, and that's what I'm going to do—I'm going to save you from your dark side and save Sonic and his friends too," Julia said through her tears. She started the plane. Shadow banged on the glass of the cockpit with his fists, mouthing words at her along with some obscenities.

"See ya later, Shadow the hedgehog," she said, using his full name for the first time in her life, and took off. She flew at full speed toward Sonic's house. When she arrived she saw that they were rebuilding. She landed the mini plane and got out, taking the chaos emeralds out from where she had hidden then as she walked toward her newfound friends.

"Hey Julia!" Knuckles and Tails piped up as they heard the plane land.

"Hey guys," She said wiping the leftover tears on her furry shoulder as her hands were full.

"Are those the chaos emeralds?" Amy asked. In turn Julia nodded in reply and handed them to Sonic, who had come over when he heard her.

"Wow, where'd you get all seven of them?" Cream asked.

"Eggman," she replied simply. "Shadow should be here any minute looking to take them back," she continued. Sonic gave the emeralds to Amy, who in turn hid them in a backpack and slung the said backpack over her shoulder. Just as Julia had predicted, Shadow came looking for the emeralds and telling them to hand them over. The group had formed ranks. Sonic and Knuckles were up in front, Tails, Julia, and Cream behind them in the next line, and last but not least was Amy and the chaos emeralds in the back. Shadow put his hand on his hips.

"Where are the chaos emeralds?" the black and red furred hedgehog pressed.

"Why should we tell you?" Julia, Knuckles, and Sonic said at the same time. Shadow's gaze fell on Julia, and he smirked, taking a few steps forward. He shoved Sonic and Knuckles aside and went to stand in front of Julia. Tails growled and put an arm out in front of Julia to prevent Shadow from touching her.

"Leave her alone, Shadow," Tails said. Shadow simply chose to ignore the young two-tailed fox.

"Here you are, complaining about me working for the bad guy, but I recall that you stole something from me when we were back on Space Colony Ark," Shadow said, his smirk growing. Julia gasped. She knew what Shadow was trying to do.

"You know that that isn't true, Shadow. You gave it to me," she replied.

"What about the files you took?" Shadow asked. She didn't say anything.

"Exactly," Shadow said and he turned to the others.

"You are fools! Protecting someone you don't even know! I know her like the back of my hand," Shadow said.

"Leave them out of this, Shadow," Julia spat. Shadow turned to look at her again.

"Getting touchy, aren't we, Jules?" Shadow said sarcastically.

"Why are you protecting them?" Shadow continued.

"Because they're my…friends, a hell of a lot better friends than you're being right now. Also because I don't want to see them get hurt," Julia replied.

"These are Eggman's enemies, Jules. If you protect them, then you are also his enemy. So he will destroy you along with them."

Julia crossed her arms over her chest.

"I suppose you will let him kill me too, wouldn't you, Shadow?" Julia said. The small group watched the exchange silently.

"No, Jules, that's what I'm trying to prevent, but you're too stubborn to realize it," Shadow said. Julia in turn looked away from Shadow.

"Why would you care, Shadow? After all, you're working for the bad guy," Julia simply said, still not looking at Shadow. Shadow grabbed her shoulders, and Tails tensed.

"Back away, Shadow," Tails warned. Shadow simply chose to ignore him again, but he whacked Tails's arm away.

"I care more than you can imagine, Jules," Shadow whispered into her ear. Julia's eyes widened and she blushed a soft shade of pink. Shadow had just confirmed the nagging thought that had been in the back of her mind forever. Shadow placed his hands against her hips and brought her closer to his body. He then pressed his lips against hers in a gentle manner. Their kiss went from shy and gentle to a full-blown passionate one. Their audience gasped in shock and disbelief. Before she knew it, everything went black, and she felt like someone had hit her in the back of the head. The last thing she heard before she succumbed to the sweet welcoming darkness was:

"Sorry guys, but I got to be on my way."

**A/N: End of chapter four! Aww wasn't that a cute ending…I mean before she got knocked out. Stay tuned for another chapter, and don't forget to review! I love those!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Again, I own none of the characters except for Julia. Thanks for those who reviewed. Sorry about the delay on this chapter! **

Julia groaned in her sleep. She suddenly jolted up, breathing harshly. As she jolted up, she was pulled back down. She groaned softly. The being next to her shifted, and her eyes shot open once she found out there was someone on the bed next to her. She took her time to look around, but in her fear, her eyes didn't touch whoever it was that was next to her. She noticed while her gaze traveled about that she was chained to the metal bars on the headboard of the bed, the chain allowing her some liberty, but she couldn't move anywhere. She also noticed that she was in the same room she had woken up in the previous day. Finally her eyes rested on the dark furry form next to her, and she sighed in relief when she saw Shadow's face not too far from her own. As she looked at him, she began to blush madly as she thought about the previous day events. She stayed quiet since she noticed that Shadow's eyes were closed. She sighed inwardly. She now knew that Shadow loved her, but did he know she loved him back? She figured he did, since he kissed her like that without asking, and she was pretty sure he knew since she had kissed him back. What her now muddled mind didn't understand was why Shadow had chained her to the bed. She figured she would ask him when he woke. Julia looked around once more and noticed Shadow's arm was halfway draped across her belly, since he was on his side. She stared at his sleeping form for a while and smiled slightly. Julia pressed her forehead to Shadow's and closed her eyes. She felt Shadow murmur something in his sleep and shift ever so slightly. Julia groaned in protest at his movements and opened her eyes, to find that she was staring straight into Shadow's iris—he was staring back at her, and it looked scary to her.

"Eeeeeekkkk!!!!" she screamed loudly and Shadow scooted far away from her, holding his ear. He wasn't frightened by the fact that she had suddenly screamed, but by the fact that she had screamed into his ear and also that she had screamed for apparently no reason. Shadow rubbed his ear with an annoyed look on his face. Julia heard faint explosions outside and the ship shook slightly.

"Eggman to Shadow, do you read me?" she heard a voice say from a small device on Shadow's wrist.

"I read you, what do you need?" Shadow responded.

"That blue hedgehog is damaging my ship. Get out there and stop him!" Eggman shouted.

"Am coming, Doctor," he said, annoyed. He turned to Julia.

"I'll be back soon, Jules," He said as he left the room. As soon as he had left, she began to struggle madly against the chains, trying to get loose, but the chain wouldn't give. After a couple of minutes, she heard pounding on the door, and then it gave way, falling to the ground with a clang. She looked up from her incessant pulling and spotted Knuckles. She smiled softly.

"Knuckles!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Shh," Knuckles said, going over to the bed.

"Raise your arms. I'm going to try and get you out," Knuckles said softly. Julia nodded silently and raised her arms. After a few good punches, the chain gave way and broke, setting her free from its clutches.

"And where do you think you two are going?" Shadow said suddenly. Both turned to look at him where he stood by the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What do you think, Shadow? I am getting her out of here," Knuckles snapped, crossing his own arms over his chest.

"And did you honestly think I would let you?" Shadow asked in a sickly bitter-sweet tone.

"Shadow, please don't do anything to Knuckles." Julia looked at the black and red hedgehog, trying to get him to calm down.

"Don't worry about me, Julia; I can take care of myself," Knuckles said as he winked at Julia. The female hedgehog looked at him, bewildered.

As Shadow went over to Knuckles, a blue fur ball shot through the floor and ceiling of the room, sending shards of metal about the room. One struck Julia on the side where the scarred wound and the infection were. She yelped loudly in pain and collapsed on her knees, grasping her side.

"Jules!" Shadow exclaimed, kneeling by her side. She collapsed against Shadow, gasping in pain.

"Should I take you to the hospital?" Shadow asked sweetly into her ear.

"Y—yes… P—please," she stammered softly. Shadow softly removed her gloved hand from her side and gasped. The fur around the wound was stained with dark blackish infected blood, and the wound was bleeding moderately. Shadow looked at Knuckles, who was just standing there.

"Let's go, bug-face," Shadow said as he lifted the injured female hedgehog into his arms.

"Me? Why me?" Knuckles asked.

"Don't ask questions, bug-face," Shadow said simply. Knuckles just shrugged and stayed silent. Shadow walked over to where the remaining mini planes were and got into one of them. Knuckles sat in the back seat; Shadow turned and placed Julia on Knuckles's lap.

"Keep a hand on her side," Shadow instructed as he turned back to face the front.

They took off. Shadow was piloting dangerously fast; the black and red furred hedgehog's wild piloting had Knuckles clinging to the seat in fear. They arrived at the hospital, and Shadow landed the mini plane in a grassy area outside the parking lot. Shadow got out and grabbed the unsuspecting echidna's arm and dragged him out of the plane at break-neck speed. Knuckles held the female white furred hedgehog tightly as Shadow literally dragged Knuckles into the hospital; people had even begun to stare at them. The doctor who had attended them a day or two ago was passing by and stopped in his tracks when he saw them. By now, Shadow had let go of Knuckles, and the red-furred echidna had straightened himself up.

"Is everything all right, Shadow?" the doctor asked with concern.

"No. She's bleeding, the blood doesn't look normal, but maybe you could fix the cut," Shadow said. He sounded unhappy.

"Come along to the room." The doctor signaled them to follow him. They followed the doctor into the room, and Knuckles went ahead and set Julia on the examination table, keeping his hand on her bleeding side. The doctor went ahead and did more tests on her blood to see why it was that strange color and also went ahead and healed the cut. Julia was silent throughout this.

"The tests will be in tomorrow, but it's better if we keep her overnight," the doctor said.

"Me and Knuckles will stay with her," Shadow said. Julia was given her own room. As she lay on her bed, she played with her fur. She had had a bad feeling ever since she got to the hospital; it usually meant that there was bad news ahead.

"What's on your mind, Jules?" Shadow asked her as he paced back and forth in front of Julia's hospital bed. Knuckles was sitting on a small sofa a few inches away from the bed, watching Shadow pace to and fro.

"I have a bad feeling, Shadow." Julia spoke softly. Shadow froze in mid step and looked at her. Shadow shuddered—he had personal experience with her bad feelings.

"Is something going to happen?" Shadow asked.

"I think we're going to get bad news tomorrow," she said. Knuckles turned to look at Julia, worried. Shadow closed his eyes and sighed. The rest of the day and night inched by slowly. None of the three got much sleep that night. The two males were very much concerned about what Julia had said.

Morning came fast. None of the three were looking forward to it. The doctor came into the room with a grave expression on his face. Shadow feared this look, as did Knuckles. Julia, on the other hand, wasn't very surprised by this look.

"I have good news and bad news," the doctor began.

"Well…talk then," Shadow commanded, fear gripping his throat.

"Both the infection and the virus are too advanced to be cured. I can remove the infected tissue through surgery, though. But, sadly, I can do nothing for the virus. I am sure that she isn't in any pain because the virus shows no symptoms."

"And?" Knuckles asked. He could tell that the doctor had more to say.

"With the infection removed, it will prolong her life for up to three more years," the doctor finished.

"So you're saying that if she gets the infected tissue removed, she will live longer than with both the infection _and_ the virus?" Shadow asked.

"Exactly," the doctor responded.

"We'll do it," Shadow said.

"I will schedule her in for today in the afternoon," the doctor said as he left. Shadow had tears in his eyes, and Knuckles was looking sadly at the ground.

"Shadow, I lived a good life….mostly, but I did. All because of you," Julia said soothingly. Shadow nodded silently and went to sit by Knuckles.

Julia got her surgery that day, as the doctor had said. She was allowed to leave the next day, since her operation wasn't too serious. Shadow gave the others the news, and everyone was sad when they heard this. They decided to make the best of her remaining years of life.

One day, Shadow sat a sleepy Julia down on the couch.

"I have something to say to you, Jules," Shadow spoke softly.

"What is it Shadow?" Julia asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I love you much more than you can imagine, Jules, and I only want the best for you. Life is short, as you can now see, but life is also precious, and you should live each and every day to the fullest," Shadow spoke softly. Julia stopped what she was doing and stared at him. A small smile played on her face, and she hugged him.

**A/N: End of chapter five! Stay tuned for the last chapter! And review! I love them! They make my day!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**Author's Note: This is the last chapter of this fic. Bring tissues—it might make you cry! (I know it made me cry.) I don't own anything except Julia, although sometimes I wish I owned Shadow. Anyway, Enjoy! **

Three years passed by more slowly than anyone expected. Shadow had moved from being Julia's best friend in the whole world to her boyfriend during the three-year span. Today was Julia's last day on Earth, and she was very distressed. She didn't look like she was dying, because she was in no pain. Eggman had decided to attack that very same day. When Eggman did attack, everyone was ready for it. Mostly everything was destroyed by Eggman's huge robot. Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and by a long endless string of pleading Julia, went to fight off Eggman. They fought long and hard to defeat him. Gradually Shadow noticed that's Julia's attacks were less often than what was necessary, and her aim was failing.

"Sonic! Knuckles!" Shadow shouted. The other two looked over to the black- and red-furred hedgehog questioningly as they dodged attacks.

"I think Jules is ready to go," Shadow said critically. The other two nodded.

"Take her somewhere safe. We'll be right there," Sonic and Knuckles said at the same time. Shadow nodded and picked Julia up and ran away. They came to a small field filled with flowers of all kinds, even rare bushes with black and white roses. Julia spotted them and smiled.

"I love those roses, Shadow," she said, pointing toward the bushes.

"I like them too," Shadow said as he set her down on a patch of flowers and walked over to the bushes, picking two roses, one black and the other white, and he handed them to her after tearing out the spines. She took them and sniffed them. Shadow sat down next to her.

"I'm scared, Shadow," Julia said, her voice trembling a little.

"Don't be scared, am here, and I will always be with you," Shadow said to her. Julia placed her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. Shadow in return patted her quills soothingly. She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"I love you, Shadow," Julia said to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. She leaned close to him and kissed his lips. The kiss was sweet. She pulled back and lay down on the ground, letting out her last breath. Shadow's breath caught in his throat, and tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at her corpse lying next to him. Her eyes were open, and it seemed that she was looking at him, a peaceful smile forever on her face.

"I love you too, Jules," he said to her body, having in mind that she was watching him from a better place. He took out a gun he had stashed on his person.

Back on the battlefield, the battle, after a very tough time, was over. Sonic and Knuckles were now gathering the others after making sure Eggman was finally destroyed once and for all. Just as they were walking toward the field Shadow had taken Julia to, they heard a single gunshot echo. Knuckles and Sonic ran ahead of the others to the field. They froze in place at the sight that was before them. Shadow had shot a single bullet into his heart, killing himself immediately. Sonic walked forward and looked over the dead bodies of their friends, Julia and Shadow. Their hands where intertwined. Their eyes were open, and they seemed to be looking at each other. They both had a smile on their lips, and Julia had both roses that Shadow had given her on her chest; it was anyone's guess that Shadow had placed them there. The red-furred echidna noticed the bullet wound on Shadow's chest, with blood running from the wound and onto the ground. The gun was nearby. The rest of the small group gathered around the dead hedgehogs. Tears rolled down their furry cheeks. They had all taken too long to defeat Eggman. They hadn't been able to be there in Julia's final moments—or Shadow's, for that matter.

Several years later in a beautiful cemetery, Knuckles, Sonic, Tails, and Cream stood in front of a beautiful gravestone, laying black and white roses from the field on the grave. Shadow and Julia had been buried together. The gravestone read:

_Here lie Shadow and Julia,_

_Two good friends,_

_Two lovers,_

_And two heroes,_

_May they rest in peace together forever._

The small group turned and left with tears in their eyes. A sudden chilly wind started in the cemetery. If they had looked back, they would have seen the ghosts of the two deceased and very much missed hedgehogs, standing in front of their own grave, and embracing each other as they watched their friends leave with smiles of their faces.

"_Take care, my friends," _Shadow's ghostly voice traveled through the air as he closed his eyes. Then the wind blew again and the two ghosts disappeared.


End file.
